Posts Categorized: Life

I am floored at the response I got from the call for the Halloween costume contest. Now, it’s a little less of a contest, than a “show me how creative you are!” because man, you had some good ones! That said, all the selections presented here will receive one free telegram from Telegram Stop. Wahoo! Sadly, I don’t have the space on the blog to show all of them, but I appreciate everyone who sent in their photos so much. Kept me in giggles! I’m going to put all of them onto my “COSTUME PARTIES” Pinterest board so you can check them all out there.

First off, the floral costumes! The top photo comes from Kimberly Moore of Third Floor, who saw my dream in January to recreate this illustration of a bouquet of flowers for my Halloween costume this year. Sadly, I didn’t have a reason to dress up this year so I didn’t (boo hoo hoo). I just LOVE her spin on it. Below, Søs Uldall Ekman, used some face paint and faux flowers to create a fantastic dia de los muertos costume.

Next up…geography! My sister, Caitlin Watson, who I talk about all the time, came up with Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. Genius? I think so. Is everyone familiar with The Magic School Bus? It’s a series of kids books based on the adventures of the clever Mrs. Frizzle and her class. Laura Tarrish, an illustrator in Portland, made a globe out of styrofoam with her husband for her now 23 year old daughter when she was 3. And then she turned it into her Christmas card and labelled it, ” Peace on Earth”. Sweet huh?

Kids costumes! Jen Craun, an artist, and her architect husband made AMAZING lego costumes for her kids as seen here (they are nuts) and last year made this amazing monarch butterfly and shark costume for her kids.

Couple’s costumes! You guys came up with some very clever couple’s costumes. First up, I LOVE this one. The European Debt crisis with Liberty dressed as Germany and her husband, Greece, groveling at her feet. Clever!

And isn’t this adorable? Kelly of Studio DIY created an amazing croquembouche costume (or French macaron wedding cake) out of COFFEE FILTERS while her husband was its French chef. Too much!

Mary Poppins and Bert are adorable! Carolina of Antologia and her boyfriend play the roles well.

This one is one of my favorites. I love me an inanimate object costume like this pencil. Simple, perfect. By illustrator Michéle Brummer-Everett

And last but not least, costumes for groups: Wes Anderson characters including Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, and Royal Tennebaums from Suzanna Rooks, a graphic designer in South Carolina.

But the real star of the show was Kelly’s Mexican pinata chihuahua. Nailed it.

Thanks again everyone for submitting your photos! I just loved checking them out and wish I could have showed everyone’s stellar costumes. Again, they will all appear on my Pinterest board, “costume parties” so you can check them out there. I can’t wait for next year’s costumes! If you’re anything like me, you’re already thinking of what you’ll be doing.

Oh, I’m not nearly done talking about our trip to Provence last month. The thing about Provence is that most everything is picturesque so you can’t help but walk around with a camera to your eye. Now, I stopped dead in my tracks when I came across this little square in the village we were staying at in Apt. I felt like I was suddenly transported into a de Chirico painting. You know what I mean?

Love doorknobs in the center of the door.

And you know, grapevines over your door. Just in case you need to make some wine really fast.

How has another week gone by and we’re already in mid October?! I swear! Fall is in full force here in Copenhagen, yet I can’t help but think of Washington, DC, particularly Georgetown, where you can experience the very best shades of fall in the world. I’m a bit biased, but that’s my claim. But you tell me, where’s the best place in the world to experience fall?

Giveaway! Remember the telegram service, Telegram Stop, that I mentioned a few weeks ago? All you have to do is go to their site, type in your message and they will send it off for you. It’s the best! Well, 10 lucky readers will win a FREE telegram. Wahoo! All you have to do is “like” The House That Lars Built on Facebook, and then leave a comment below letting me know. Bonus points if you share the news! Winner will be announced on Wednesday, October 24th.

And if you don’t want to enter the giveaway (as if!), you can still get 10% off all of your telegrams by enterting LARSHOUSE at checkout on their site. Ready go!

photo taken on my iphone via Instagram at the flower boutique selling the most lovely shades of cabbages

On Monday I talked about our arrival to Provence, Apt more specifically. The trip was just my mom and me and we had been talking about a trip to Provence for ages. You see, once upon a time Mom had a shop in Corona del Mar, CA called “En Provence” where she sold beautiful French country furniture (made by my uncle!) and gifts. But between you and me, she had never been! She’d get comments all the time, “yup, this feels just like it” and she would just smile and nod, “merci.” Most likely because of this, I grew up a French country disciple and devoured anything Provence-related like Peter Mayle’s Year in Provence. You can imagine, this was a bit of a dream come true for us.

Knowing that Mom was coming to visit us in Denmark we just knew we had to go south for a bit and make it a reality. Then the question arose, WHERE to stay? I asked you dear Lars readers for suggestion and you were SO helpful. Thank you! If you want to go there yourself, read some of their suggestions here. I was tipped off by a friend of mine that Katy Elliot, whose blog I’ve adored for many blog years had stayed in Provence and after seeing her post about her stay in Bonnieux I KNEW that that had to be us. The apartment is owned by an architect/designer couple in Maine who also have properties and an antiques shop in New England called Marston House and other properties in Southern France. We didn’t stay in the Bonnieux location, but their 2 bedroom apartment in Apt, the town right next door. The pictures of the apartment showed a really beautiful, simple interior in neutral colors with a mix of antiques and new pieces. They later told me that they completely renovated it themselves including the statement staircase done by local craftsmen (go local!). I loved their whole vibe and their love for the area so I was sold.

Read more about our experience below.

Like I said, the apartment is a mix of antiques and new pieces including the linens, which included personalized monograms from previous owners. I loved these touches, like on the window curtains.

This is the bedroom that I stayed in, above, and I didn’t get a great photo of my mom’s room which was the bigger of the two.

The apartment overlooked this quaint courtyard, which we could have used, but ended up leaving early in the morning and returning after sundown each day, so we gawked from afar.

If you want to stay here, or at any of their rentals, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Their taste helps transform your experience. I wouldn’t say that Apt was my favorite town that we stayed in. There was a tinge of grittiness that I didn’t prefer, but when you’re in Provence you end up renting a car and seeing all the towns anyway so you may not spend so much time in your place. It was a great home base for us.

Marston House rentals website here. I’ll be posting more about the markets in the area and our day trips. Guys, this trip blew my mind and I can’t wait to show it to you.

All photos but two taken by me. The two are from the Marston House website

It’s been over a month since Mom and I popped over to Provence and looking over these photos I’m reminiscing over the beautifully warm weather, the dusty roads, and the pops of lavender. TAKE ME BACK! Once I earn my millions blogging (ahem) I plan on buying us a stone villa with robin’s egg blue shutters. We flew into Nice, rented a car and enjoyed the three hour drive through vineyards, pumpkin patches, and plum trees to our destination, Apt. Are you looking at these pumpkins? Beautiful Cinderellas. I was tempted to steal as many would fit into my suitcase (one before getting caught at customs?).

We arrived to our destination, a town called Apt. The apartment we were staying at is situated in a square, where the weekly Saturday market is located (but more on that later). We escalated the staircase, taking note of the courtyard behind the apartment building where laundry was drying. Yes, even the laundry looks picturesque. HOW?!

And this is the apartment. Look at that staircase! The couple who owns the apartment are an architect and designer and completely remodeled it themselves. I love the mix of modern and French country. I’ll be highlighting the apartment a bit more tomorrow so you can see some of the lovely details.